Keller @ Large: Withhold Bin Laden Death Photos If It Saves Lives

BOSTON (CBS) - You never know how many people actually hear what you're saying as opposed to what they want to hear.

But I hope and trust that after all these years, I've established some credentials as a relatively skeptical person.

One listener once told me he and his wife had a pet nickname for me: "Cranky at Large." I took it as a compliment.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

But after watching the emergence over the last two days of a substantial amount of pressure on the White House to release the death photos of Osama bin Laden in order to dispel doubts about whether or not he is actually dead, I'm starting to feel like Pollyanna, the super-optimistic orphan who finds the silver lining in every situation.

OK, make that Pollyanna with a moustache and a suspicious mind.

But not that suspicious.

I believe bin Laden is dead. It defies even the most cynical logic that our government would lie about that, or that their lie would hold up even for 24 hours.

I also believe that President Obama was born in Hawaii, because I've seen definitive proof that he was, and don't believe for a second that he is the pathological liar he would have to be to have lied about it.

I believe that President Bush honestly thought Saddam Hussein had WMDs; so did the UN.

I believe that the moon landing was real, and that the government is not hiding alien corpses and spaceships at Area 51.

I'm sorry if any of that offends you.

Perhaps you think me a fool for believing that while humans do sometimes lie and government officials are human, they are for the most part reluctant to do so, and are certainly incapable of sustaining the kinds of elaborate hoaxes conspiracy theorists routinely ascribe to them.

So I say, if withholding the bin Laden death photos saves a single life from being at risk due to backlash against their release, then withhold them.

And I suggest we save our skepticism for the times when it's truly warranted, instead of constantly binging on it for the sugar high.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.